In-person Seafood Expo Asia event set for Singapore in 2022

Diversified Communications, the organizer of Seafood Expo Asia, has announced the return of an in-person event in 2022.

The organizer announced that the tenth edition of Seafood Expo Asia will take place in Singapore, at the Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre, from 14 to 16 September, 2022. The event scheduled for 2020, which was also to take place in Singapore, was canceled by Diversified due to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. [Editor's note: Diversified Communications also owns and operates SeafoodSource].

The company said that the exhibition’s move to Singapore is intended to cater to companies’ needs across the seafood value chain in Asia, and to provide seafood companies with greater business opportunities in various Asian markets.

“Findings from third-party independent research revealed that, driven by growing consumption and imports, Southeast Asia has a growing need to meet with international seafood suppliers. Seafood Expo Asia is well-positioned to serve a wider Asian audience and create opportunity for the seafood community throughout Asia and the world,” Diversified Communications Group Vice President Liz Plizga said in a release. “The relocation will better position Seafood Expo Asia as a hub event to facilitate both Southeast and East Asia buyers in strong growing markets with easy accessibility.”

The event in 2022 would mark the first in-person Seafood Expo Asia in four years. The last in-person event was held in Hong Kong in 2018.

Diversified Communications made the decision to cancel the 2019 edition of the event, also planned to be in Hong Kong, in response to social unrest after careful analysis of the situation, pending protests, and the impacts on the event, Plizga said at the time. 

The new location, Suntec Singapore Convention and Exhibition Centre, has 20 years of experience in the meetings, incentives, conventions, and exhibitions industry. The new venue has direct access to six hotels, a wide range of food and entertainment, and is a 20-minute ride from Singapore Changi Airport, according to Diversified.

“Seafood Expo Asia is the definitive seafood tradeshow for Asia, and its presence in Singapore shows the continued confidence our valued partners place in Singapore as a safe, reliable, and trusted destination for business events. We look forward to extending a warm welcome to all participants to a safe and meaningful event in Singapore,” Singapore Tourism Board Exhibitions and Conferences Executive Director Poh Chi Chuan said.

In between the last in-person event and the planned event in 2022, Seafood Expo Asia offered a digital solution, Seafood Expo Asia Reconnect. The online event ran in 2020 and in November 2021 to connect “international seafood suppliers with Asian buyers looking to achieve their business goals,” Diversified said. The company said the 2022 edition of Seafood Expo Asia will bring back its business-matchmaking program in Singapore, facilitating targeted meetings between exhibitors and high-volume buyers and importers.

Also returning with the in-person event are the exhibit floor of international suppliers of fresh, chilled, frozen, canned, and value-added seafood products; along with a conference program covering industry topics in Asia.